Uber To Offer Waymo Robotaxi Rides In Austin, Atlanta

Uber is to give riders access to Waymo vehicles via the Uber app in Austin, Texas and Atlanta starting early next year, expanding a deal that began in Arizona last year.

Once services begin Uber users will be able to be matched with a driverless Waymo for some trips, the companies said.

The deal is to see Waymo rides offered through Uber’s app, and not on Waymo’s own app, in a measure that seems calculated to expand Waymo services to as broad a user base as possible.

In San Francisco and Los Angeles, by contrast, Waymo offers rides via its own app.

Competition

Waymo said it has no plans to work with Uber in San Franciso or Los Angeles.

Waymo faces investor pressure to ramp up its revenues for corporate parent Alphabet, which also owns Google.

Alphabet does not disclose Waymo’s financial results, but the unit is believed to be responsible for most of the $2.15 billion (£1.6bn) in operating losses posted by Alphabet’s “Other Bets” division in the first half of 2024.

Uber is facing similar investor pressure as Tesla prepares to unveil its own robotaxi strategy on 10 October.

Shares in Uber have fallen 9 percent since the Tesla event was announced.

Deals with autonomous vehicle companies allow Uber to fend off a competitive threat as such firms, led by Waymo, take more ride-hailing market share.

A Bernstein analysis found that in May 2024 Waymo’s 50,000 weekly paid rides in San Francisco made up about 2 percent of ride-sharing usage in the city.

Waymo has since doubled its paid robotaxi trips to more than 100,000 a week across San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, the company said.

Fully autonomous rides

“We’re thrilled to build on our successful partnership with Waymo, which has already powered fully autonomous trips for tens of thousands of riders in Phoenix,” said Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi.

Beginning last October, Uber users in Phoenix, Arizona could be matched with a fully autonomous, electric Waymo vehicle.

In April 2024 the deal expanded to include some Uber Eats deliveries via Waymo vehicles in the Tempe, Mesa and Chandler suburbs of Phoenix.

The deals in Austin and Atlanta won’t initially include Uber Eats, although the companies said they are exploring the possibility for the future.

“We’ve been delighted at the positive feedback from our Waymo One riders to date, and we can’t wait to bring the comfort, convenience, and safety of the Waymo Driver to these cities in partnership with Uber,” said Waymo co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana.

Cruise competition

Uber last month also announced a deal with GM’s Cruise to make Cruise vehicles available on the Uber app from next year.

The companies haven’t yet announced in which cities Cruise availability would launch.

Cruise’s licence remains suspended in California following a grisly 2023 incident in San Francisco that critically injured a pedestrian.

Uber sold off its own self-driving unit in 2020 following a 2018 incident in which one of its vehicles killed a pedestrian, and since then has relied on deals with Waymo, Cruise and SoftBank-backed UK start-up Wayve.

Uber and Waymo were formerly bitter rivals after Waymo accused Uber of conspiring to steal its technology.